Royal couple opt out of Calgary's white stetson tradition

Will and Kate in Calgary

Photograph by: Phil Noble/Reuters

CALGARY — A new generation of royalty met an old and endangered art form when Will and Kate re-emerged into public view on Thursday afternoon and were officially welcomed to Calgary with a White Hat Ceremony.

The Cowtown equivalent of offering the keys to the city, the tradition of "white-hatting" stretches back to the 1950s, when a Calgary mayor with a flair for showmanship invented a way to welcome notables to the city by perching the indelible symbol of the Stampede atop their heads.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi presented Will and Kate with their hats on a sweltering airport tarmac when they arrived, offering them brim up and filled with the good wishes of the citizens of Cowtown. The couple examined the hats appreciatively, but to the disappointment of the crowd of about 100 waiting fans they didn't put them on before disappearing in their motorcade.

Brian Hanson, vice-president of Smithbilt Hats, handcrafted the headgear that greeted the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

A soft-spoken man who automatically touches a fingertip to the brim of his brown cowboy hat when introduced to someone, Hanson stands in the hot, dusty workshop of Smithbilt headquarters, just south of where the Bow River splits around St. George's Island. Behind him, dozens of unfinished hats sit on a work table, looking like strange felt mushrooms in their half-formed state.

The company produces three styles of white hat. The New West made of glazed canvas goes for $18.50, and Smithbilt recommends it for large groups who need to be Stampede-ready. The "truly gorgeous" Old West model is made of Merino wool and priced at $72.50, precisely sized to the wearer.

The Cadillac of Smithbilt hats is the Wild West, an "Official White Hat" made of 100 per cent rabbit fur and ringing in at $199.99.

According to the company's history, Calgary's iconic white hat was born in 1946, when Morris Shumiatchew of Smithbilt Hats introduced a pure white cowboy hat made of imported Russian felt.

Two years later, the hats became a de facto symbol of the city when the Calgary Stampeders competed for the Grey Cup and 250 raucous fans wearing Smithbilt hats descended on Toronto to support their team, bringing with them a chuckwagon, 12 horses and a hat for the Toronto mayor.

When Don MacKay, a man Smithbilt describes as a "born promoter," became Calgary mayor in 1950, he started presenting the hats to prominent visitors to the city.

"The white hat is a symbol of the city which represents western heritage and hospitality," says Smithbilt president Bryce Nimmo. "Western heritage and values doesn't mean cowboys. It means that we have this sort of western mystique, this flavour. We embrace that. You go to Vegas and they know what they are. You go to New York and they know what they are."

On Thursday, Will and Kate joined a long and varied list of celebrities that have been white-hatted, including the Dalai Lama, Pope John Paul II, Wayne Gretzky, Bruce Springsteen, Luciano Pavarotti, Oprah Winfrey, Mickey Mouse, George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.

For the high-end hats made of felt, Hanson forms the crown by moulding the material over a hatblock and stretching the brim out flat, leaving it to dry for a week before trimming the brim to a uniform width.

"I usually leave them open like this so when someone comes in, I can shape them to fit their face and different styles," he says, grabbing a brown hat-in-progress from the work table and flipping it over to display the battered wooden hatblock inside.

The famous Calgary white hat has a distinct shape and less variety than other types of cowboy hats, he says, but he "tweaked" the headgear he created for Kate and William, with the help of measurements provided by the palace and passed along by the mayor's office.

For Kate, Hanson made the flat portion at the front of the brim narrower, giving it a feminine twist to suit her delicate features and narrow face, while the front of William's brim is wider and more rugged-looking.

"Most people's heads aren't straight, so if you buy one out of the store it might be off to the side," he says, lifting the brown hat he's wearing and cocking it to one side. "So I'll just mark one with chalk before I shape it, so it's lined up with your eyes."

Without physical access to his royal models as he created their hats out of snowy rabbit-fur felt, Hanson says photos helped him tailor the styles.

He grabs a finished hat from the store at the front of the building and demonstrates the disappearing art of custom-shaping, holding the hat in a plume of steam to make the material pliable and then creasing the crown and coaxing the brim into the perfect curve. As he works, his hands fly over the material as though he's doing it by feel alone, though he periodically holds the hat up to eye level to peer at the angles.

"I've got so many other hats to make, it was just another one on the list," he says of the pre-Stampede period, when business is busiest. "But they are special, of course, I took a little more time."

Out front, the store is decorated with knotty pine beams and smells like leather, with hundreds of hats perched on racks on the walls. A single bright crimson cowboy hat punctuates a wall of more sedate brown and ivory models, and a separate section shows off more flamboyant tophats, bowlers and Indiana Jones-style fedoras.

Smithbilt's custom-designed hat boxes, which look like cases for miniature tubas, are piled along the baseboards, while a steady stream of customers walks out into the blazing-hot day, carrying single white hats or tall stacks of them.

The Smithbilt store also offers a full range of spa treatments for "old friends" battered by a few too many dusty trails. A "stiffen and shape" will run you $30 while a "complete renovation" is available for $95.

"If you spill your whiskey on your hat, rinse the spot immediately and brush it with your finger. Let the hat dry out naturally," the company advises. "Do the same for yourself."

Smithbilt offers a rundown of hat etiquette as nuanced as the protocol for meeting royals: remove hats upon entering an elevator, restaurant or home; never wear them during a meal; touch the brim lightly when greeting a friend; raise the hat by the crown when meeting a female; and remove your hat and place it over your heart during the national anthem.

"In adopting the hat as your signature piece, you must also accept the responsibility of hat etiquette," the company admonishes. "Often ignored, hat etiquette will show that your uniqueness extends not only to your choice of headwear, but to your manners, as well."

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Raw Video: Royals in Lake Louise. Prince William and Kate Middleton spent two hours in a private lodge at the Lake Louise ski hill today after spending Wednesday night at the remote Skoki Lodge in Banff National Park. The royal couple changed clothes and freshened up at the ski resort after their night in the rustic back country lodge. Kate Middleton changed into a yellow dress and William into a blue suit and tie. Video of their departure from lake Louise by Robert Remington, Calgary Herald

View video: Prince William promises to return to Canada. In his final public speech in Canada, Prince William is promising to return. After a primer on rodeo and bull riding, the cowboy hat wearing Duke of Cambridge reflected on his visit to Canada. Here are a few of his comments, including a vow to come back again.

View video: The Royal Couple in Calgary: Sights and sounds. From the traditional white hatting at the airport, to a sick little girl who stole our hearts, to a massive bull trying to eject the cowboy on his back. It was a memorable day for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Here are some of the sights and sounds of William and Kate's first day in Calgary.

View video: Royal Tour secrets: Skoki Lodge. Some Calgarians with some inside knowledge have kept it a secret for days that the Royal Couple would stay at the Skoki Lodge outside Lake Louise for some R & R.

View video: Royal Tour: security. Those attending the royal events can expect a huge police presence but won't encounter any massive security screening.

View video: Royals land in Calgary. Prince William and Kate touch down in Calgary, the final stop of their Canadian tour.

Raw Video: Royals arrive in Calgary. William and Kate arrived in Calgary Thursday afternoon and were presented with a traditional White Hat by Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

Raw Video: Royal Tour: Prince William and Kate in Calgary tour W21C Centre. William and Kate are given demonstrations of the latest technology in healthcare at the W21C Research and Innovation Centre at the University of Calgary.

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